Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

[Hutch]

Hi all, I'm new here but I've been surfing around and trying to get a feel for the Hero system.

 

I've been a DM for DnD 2nd and 3rd edition for over ten years now, and I've always loved working in technology and otherworldly things into my campaigns. Then someone told me about Hero so I'm doing a little bit of research to see if I'd like it.

 

I'm considering buying the 5th Edition Rulebook, but being a poor graduate student it is a large chunk of change to buy and I've been having trouble finding it (since it is out of print.)

 

Anyway, I had a few questions about the book since I can't find it to look in it myself.

 

Is the rulebook mainly what you need? I've heard that it's pretty stand alone and I wouldnt' have to invest a lot of money into other books, however are their sample enemies and things like that in the book, or would I have to build them all myself? I have seen books about powers and vehicles and things like that, does the Core book go into pretty good detail, or is it highly recommended that if I get that book, I invest in some of the other ones?

 

That is my main question at this point. I suppose too just the learning curve of the entire system. I have DnD's rules hammered pretty well into my head, but I have dabbled in other systems too (Rifts and Warhammer) so I have tried other systems as well.

 

I really appreciate any help that could be sent my way. Thanks!

 

Hutch

 

p.s. Do you believe I should just wait for the revised version? My only hangup is that it's going to be a few months away, and I'm just about ready to learn now.

[lazarus]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Get Sidekick for now. It's a good investment, almost all you need, 10 USD.

 

The other books are recommended, as the genre books describe how to emulate the style in the HERO system, and the construct books prebuild things for you.

 

But all you need to run HERO is Sidekick.

 

The main learning curve is figuring out how to build characters. At that, it's mostly just wrapping your mind around the "build the game effects".

 

Laz

[tancred]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Hi, Hutch! Welcome to HERO!

 

You'll probably get this answer from a bunch of the old-timers here, too; if you don't want to wait for the 5th Edition Revised (now being referred to as 5ER), go ahead and get Sidekick. It's available now, it's only $10.00, and it is designed for newcomers to HERO.

 

As for the other books, what they mostly do is save you time. You can build anything you want, if you want to take the time. Books like the HERO System Vehicle Sourcebook, the Bestiary, and others provide you with things already written up, that you don't have to put any of your own time into.

 

In particular, I have to recommend Fantasy Hero, the Bestiary, and Monsters, Minions, and Marauders. All three books are CRAMMED full of good information. Fantasy HERO in particular has lots of good information on running any sort of fantasy game you want to. Both the Bestiary and MMM will save you lots of time creating monsters/creatures.

 

If you can afford it, you should look into HERO Designer. The best character generation software on the planet makes it VERY easy to create any type of character you want, and it enforces all the 5th Edition rules, making it really hard to make mistakes.

At $40.00, it's expensive, but in my opinion vastly worth it.

 

Also, check out the Fantasy Hero forum here, and the Links page. In particular, Killer Shrike's web page (sorry, don't have the link handy) has a VERY well done and detailed conversion system for 3rd edition to HERO.

 

Hope that helps.

[Talon]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

I second the suggestion to buy Sidekick -- it will give you the information you need to understand the Hero System (and run it if you want).

 

None of the other books are needed (you don't even /need/ 5th Edition if you have Sidekick, though I'd recommend it). The best campaign I ever ran was a fantasy game using only the basic rulebook.

 

Like the cover of FREd says, Hero is a gamer's toolkit. You can take the basic book and build whatever you want. You might end up wanting other books because they have built stuff for you, but you don't need them. There are a few interesting rules in them as well, but they are definitely optional.

 

For example, if you were going to run Fantasy, I'd definitely recommend at least one monsters book, just because it's a pain to make up every single monster yourself -- but you could, if you preferred.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

I'm considering buying the 5th Edition Rulebook, but being a poor graduate student it is a large chunk of change to buy and I've been having trouble finding it (since it is out of print.)

 

p.s. Do you believe I should just wait for the revised version? My only hangup is that it's going to be a few months away, and I'm just about ready to learn now.

 

The changes to 5er are supposed to make it easier to follow, but not change anything of substance. That said, given it's only a few months away, I'd probably hold off until 5er hits the shelves, just for the added clarity (plus it gives you time to factor it into your budget...)

 

You might also consider getting a copy of Sidekick, which is essentially an "abridged/beginner" version of the rules, to get a feel for the system and decide whether you want to invest in the full version.

 

Anyway, I had a few questions about the book since I can't find it to look in it myself.

 

Is the rulebook mainly what you need? I've heard that it's pretty stand alone and I wouldnt' have to invest a lot of money into other books, however are their sample enemies and things like that in the book, or would I have to build them all myself? I have seen books about powers and vehicles and things like that, does the Core book go into pretty good detail, or is it highly recommended that if I get that book, I invest in some of the other ones?

 

The rulebook is the rules for the system only. Because the system is intended to cross multiple genres, sample characters and such don't make an appearance. In theory, this is all you need, but building a fantasy campaign from the "toolkit" would take a lot of work.

 

Flowing from the main rulebook are genre books (Champions for Supers gaming; Fantasy Hero for fantasy gaming; Star Hero for science fiction, etc.). The genres generally also spawn setting books (Turakian Age for Fantasy Hero), enemies books (Monsters Minions and Marauders for Fantasy Hero) and "power build" books (Fantasy Hero Grimoire, for example, is a book of spells).

 

Crossing the genres are the "Ultimate" series, like Ultimate Vehicle and Ultimate Martial Artist, which flesh out rules for these areas. You can think of these like the D&D splatbooks - new optional rules for a subset of the characters, but you don't need them to play the game.

 

There's also some sourcebooks that cross genres, like the Bestiary and the vehicles sourcebook. The former would be very useful for fantasy, the latter less so.

[CorpCommander]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Well, you can get Sidekick for $10 which has enough of the rules you can easily get started. Honestly, the big black book is totally loaded and for some a bit overwhelming in my opinion. In the long run you'll want it but getting Sidekick is a great introduction. Besides being cheap when you are done with it you can give/sell it to a potential player when you get the revised book.

 

The supplement books are almost all great. They are full of examples and generally don't contain rules not already found in the main book. They may have suggested skills and power writeups. Generally if you want to do the work you can recreate many of the supplements from the main book excepts the Genre Books which contain information about running games of said genre.

 

I got back into Hero after a 10 year absence in 2003 and to catch up I bought the big book and some supplements. I then started to read the posts at this site daily. I am very comfortable with the system now. The majority of the learning curve took 2 months. Since then its been just a matter of sticking with discussions and looking at real world things and trying to invent stats for them.

 

You will have to unlearn what you have learned with DnD. Freedom can be threatening. At least I know I felt that way originally. Without structure it feels chaotic - but the reason Hero works is you start with effect you want and work your way to the powers/talents/skills/characteristics you need.

 

Lets say you want to make a rogue. What does a rogue do? What defines your idea of a rogue? Access to secretive theives guilds? Silent movement? Trap disarmament? Finding hidden things? For each of those points you can search the book and find something that allows you to do those abilities. Then its a matter of building the power to suit your exact needs.

 

Good luck! I think you will end up loving Hero. Don't be afraid to answer questions - I've almost always had some great responses to questions I've posed here.

[schir1964]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Well, based on the fact that you worked technology into DND, you don't seem to have a problem with adding/changing things about the system you want. Therefore, I think you'll find Hero 5th Edition to you liking.

 

The Hero 5th Edition rulebook is just that. It gives you all the rules you would ever need to create and build your own game for any genre. So if you don't mind doing the extra work, the system will work to your advantage.

 

Biggest thing you'll have to get used to is that the SFX is separated from the mechanics of the game.

 

Example:

In DND you might have Firebolt spell. It does damage of certain type and has rules for how to cast it.

 

In Hero you have Energy Blast, Ranged Killing Attack, and Mental Illusion, however, these are just names for the mechanics of what kind of damage and how it's applied. All of them could be used to create a "Firebolt" spell or attack.

 

In other words, what the attack/power looks like (SFX) is completely up to the player, what the attack/power actually does (mechanics) is how the player builds it. Sometimes there is more that one way to build an SFX.

 

For more information you can check the FAQs section to find http://www.herogames.com/SupportFAQs/effects.htm information.

 

Therefore, any kind of power or ability you can imagine can be created within the Hero System. There are a few exceptions, but you can always come to theses boards to get dozens of examples from other people on how they did it. (8^D)

 

Most of the supplement books help the GM create his game world or to get a certain feel for the game he wants. Not necessary, but helpful.

 

The Ultimate line of books are basically full of examples on how achieve certain SFX.

 

Others here will elaborate more I'm sure. (8^D)

 

Good Luck

 

- Christopher Mullins

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Welcome aboard Hutch!

Everyone else has already answered your questions so I have one for you.

Do you have a player named Starsky?

[SCUBA Hero]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Echoing the advice to buy Sidekick. At $10, it's an easy (financial) start into the Hero System. If you like it, you can buy the revised edition later and still use Sidekick as a quick reference or let your players use it while you have the main rulebook.

 

Try to find someone who has and will loan you some of the supplements in areas you are interested in. That will give you the best idea of whether you value them enough to purchase them.

 

Welcome aboard! It's a friendly, helpful bunch here.

[Hutch]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Thank you all for the speedy replies!

 

Actually, I ran down and got the Sidekick after reading them. (I had seen it at the store the other day) so now I can peruse and try to figure this stuff out.

 

I appreciate being pointed to other books and the like as well. I'm certain this was a good investment and since Sidekick can help kick off games, I might as well wait for the revised edition in the coming months.

 

Thanks so much for all the help! I'll probably have more questions, I warn you!

 

And Hyperman, unfortunately at this moment I don't have a Starsky...

[Old Man]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

I can't really add much but support for the various recommendations. There are also many sources to be found on the net. A good one is http://www.killershrike.com/

 

You and your players will find it much easier to make the characters you want.

 

If you're familiar with Warhammer (the war game) think of it in a similar way. Instead of building an army with points, you're building a character.

[Mentor]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

I guess I will be the oddball. I recommend that you go for FREd which is the full fifth edition rulebook.

 

Why? Glad you asked. As someone who also started this bizarre hobby with D&D, but some twenty five years ago, I feel that you will be experienced enough a gamer to want to reproduce some of the higher level abilities, some of the campaign depth possibilities, and some of the esoteric device functions for any genre which FREd will supply. I am a big fan of Sidekick for a player just starting out, but I do believe that an aspiring judge will soon find it wanting for design detail.

 

Welcome to Hero. The sysytem really is superior, Steve Long and company are extremely responsive and down to Earth, and the quantity and quality of friendly help you can get from the members on these boards is astounding.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Questions about Hero from a DnD GM

 

Hutch, there isn't a lot I can add to the good advice you've already received, especially since you now have the HERO System Sidekick. One thing I would suggest is that you check out this section of the "Free Stuff" part of the website, where you can download some PDF documents that will help introduce you to some of the basic elements of the system. I'd particularly recommend "The HERO System Genre By Genre," which will give you advice on using the system to emulate various game genres, with sample characters, gadgets, spells etc.

 

Welcome to HERO. I hope you enjoy the ride.